Are you tired of hearing artificial voices when opening TikTok? Do robots freak you out? What if the vampires of marketing could combine the voices of your favorite celebrities with technology to sell you stuff? Would that help you feel better about surrendering your hard-earned dollars for products bought online or elsewhere? We’re about to find out. SAG-AFTRA announced a deal with artificial intelligence company Narrativ to permit members to license their digital voice replica for use in audio ads. Soon, voice actors won’t need to enter a recording booth to hock products. Narrativ will do the “heavy lifting,” while members collect on the opportunity. Can you feel yourself hollowing inside? It’s like we’re one step closer to Demolition Man.
I joke, but it’s not all doom and gloom. Thankfully, the deal introduces meaningful steps in establishing informed consent, compensation requirements, and other protections for SAG-AFTRA members. These mandates are a step in the right direction, though where this leads is anyone’s guess.
“Not all members will be interested in taking advantage of the opportunities that licensing their digital voice replicas might offer, and that’s understandable. But for those who do, you now have a safe option,” SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. “Narrativ has agreed to our terms, and its platform is an excellent example of how A.I. can be ethically used, by putting compensation, informed consent and control in the hands of individual performers.”
To be clear, Narrativ does not have free reign to use members’ voices willy-nilly. Those who agree to Narrativ’s terms get to choose which ads they appear in; that way, they don’t end up selling something they don’t want to be associated with, among other reasons. Additionally, a portion of the revenue from SAG-AFTRA member ads goes to the union’s health and retirement plans. Payments help members qualify for benefits, with their efforts essentially paying it forward for themselves and others.
“This is a new frontier for digital advertising. A.I. makes the dream of every marketer possible — it gives them the tools to deliver the right message, using a voice that will resonate with the right person, at the right place and time,” Narrativ co-founder Ben Gottdiener said in a statement of his own. “Ethical A.I. use doesn’t invalidate that vision. It strengthens it. By ensuring that every person involved in the creation of that message is informed about what it contains, consents to its use and is compensated fairly, we make that vision sustainable, repeatable and real.”
What do you think about SAG-AFTRA inking a deal for members to include their digital voices in audio ads? Let us know in the comments section below.